The Hunger Games Tragedy
by PiggyGirl
Summary: Clove and Cato's relationship before and during the games. Katniss and Peeta weren't the only star crossed lovers of the games.
1. First Words

**Chapter One: First Words **

Seven-year-old Clove always hit the target with her knife. Her father said she was a natural. She intimidated all the girls and all the boys hated her. But she didn't care. She didn't need friends. All she needed was the Hunger Games.

She watched them every year, trying to learn new skills from each victor. Her whole world revolved around the games and eventually becoming a victor. No one in her family had ever done it before, but she planned on being the first. Reapings don't always go as planned, unless you plan on volunteering. Clove planned on doing just this. When she was 17 or 18, she planned on volunteering and replacing whoever was reaped, so that she could then fight in the games and represent her district with pride.

"There's no way you won't be a victor some day, princess," Clove's father told her and kissed her forehead after another training session. "I think it's time we enroll you in the academy." Cloves eyes lit up at this. Girls were not usually let into the academy this young. They were considered too weak, especially at such a young age. "Would that make you happy sweetheart?"

"Yes yes yes yes daddy," she squealed. She jumped into her father's arms and he laughed.

The academy was where District 2 sent their most promising children where they were trained to become the ideal tribute for the Hunger Games, or "careers" as the other districts called them. They almost always won, and Clove planned on that being her someday.

"Great," her father said as he put her back down. "Just make sure you show them how tough you are. You're a young, pretty girl and they will consider you too weak before you even do anything. So, show them that they're wrong."

Two weeks later, Clove was admitted to the academy as the youngest girl in more than 50 years. Because of this, she did not make friends easily. She was already acting as a tribute, and didn't need or want any friends. She was stronger alone. But then there was Cato.

XXXXXXX

Two years later, nine-year-old Clove sat on the side of the lawn outside the front of the school, watching the boys in her class practicing combat. This was one of her only weaknesses. While she was fast, smart, and incredibly skilled with a knife, she was small. She had not practiced combat before either because she generally didn't talk to other kids much. She had no interest in talking to these boys, but there was one who stood out above the rest and if she wanted to improve her combat skills, she'd have to talk to at least him.

She sucked in her pride, stood up, and marched up to them. "Can I join in?" she asked. Some of the boys looked dumbfounded. After a few seconds, most of them burst out laughing. Clove stared their leader in the eye the whole time, refusing to back down just because she was a girl. When the laughter died down, he looked back at her.

"And what's your name?" he asked.

"Clove," she said and the boy's eyes widened.

"Oh," he said, "You're that girl everyone has been talking about. I hear you're pretty skilled with a knife." Before he could say anything else, she took a knife out of her shirt pocket and flicked at the wall behind him. It whizzed right by the boy's ear and hit a poster of President Snow right in the eye. Most of the boys looked stunned. "Well," he said, "You are pretty good. What do you want in with us for?"

"Being a tribute requires more than one skill," she said.

"Oh you want to be in the Hunger Games?" he asked and Clove nodded. "Alright then, come on and join us."

"What's your name anyway?" Clove asked the boy.

"Cato," he said, "You ready?" Clove nodded and Cato charged right at her. In one move he flipped her onto her back on the ground. "Well you need to at least try," he said, laughing as he helped her up.

"I don't know much about combat," Clove said.

"Well that's obvious," Cato said and Clove smirked at him.

"Can we just try again?" Clove asked and Cato smiled.

"Sure little girl," he said and she glared at him. After a few hours, Clove could at least fight him off slightly. She could hold him off for a few minutes, but Cato pinned her to the ground eventually, every time.

"Alright," Cato said, "I think we could stop for the day." He pulled her up off the ground. "You know," he said, "you're not like other girls. You're a lot more interesting. I like you." Clove ignores this compliment. She wasn't trying to gain friends.

"Same time tomorrow?" she asked and Cato laughed.

"Sure Clove," he said, "See you tomorrow."

XXXXXXX

"Come on little girl," a boy yelled at 14-year-old Clove as he pinned her to the ground during training. Clove tried to push him off, but he held his ground. "How do you think you're ever going to win the Hunger Games if you can't even fight me off?" The boy moved his arm onto Clove's throat, compressing her windpipe. Clove gasped for air as she kicked and scratched at the boy, but she could not break free from him. He started laughing at her struggle.

Suddenly, the grip loosened and the boy's laughter turned into screams. Clove pushed her herself off the ground to see Cato holding the boy in a headlock.

"Lay off her," he yelled, "Or I'll make you pay for it, you understand?" The boy nodded slightly, Cato released him and he took off across the room. "You okay?" Cato asked her and reached up to brush a hair out of her face. She slapped his hand down and glared at him.

"Yes I'm fine," she snapped, "I was handling it fine on my own." Cato laughed a little at this.

"Handling it?" he said, "He was ready to suffocate you!" Clove rolled her eyes and stormed off and out onto the school lawn. "Clove," Cato yelled as he ran out after her, "Clove wait up!" Clove sat down under her favorite tree and stared out up at the clouds. Cato sat down next to her, "What's going on?" he asked. Clove looked over at him and sighed.

"I'm already 14. I've been through two reapings and I still can't fight off one stupid boy," she said. Cato put his arm around her and pulled her in closer.

"Then we'll keep working on it," he said, "You'll be able fight them off in no time."

"That's going to be the death of me in the arena," she said, almost ignoring him.

"Then I'll go in with you," he said, "If you get reaped before you feel ready, I'll go in with you to protect you. The two of us would be unstoppable." Clove looked back up at him and smiled, totally unaware of what he was promising.

"We would be great together in there," she said and smiled. Cato smiled down at her. Then, he leaned down and kissed her. They had never kissed before and it took Clove by surprise. At first she gave into it and kissed him back. He was the only person who really understood her.

But then she snapped out of it and broke away from him. "What's wrong?" Cato asked and Clove shook her head and got up.

"Nothing," she said awkwardly, "Everything's fine. I'll see you later." With that, Clove took off back toward the school. She had not joined the academy to get a boyfriend. She had joined to become a tribute and that was wasting time.


	2. Reaped

**Chapter Two: Reaped **

"You ready for today?" Cato asked Clove as he helped her tie her hair back with a silk ribbon.

"No," Clove said honestly. She was now 17, but still didn't feel prepared for the games.

"So I assume you've decided not to volunteer then?" Cato asked as she turned to face him.

"Maybe next year," she said and Cato smiled.

"I guess it's my year then," he said and Clove laughed.

"I guess so," she said. They stood in silence for a moment, knowing these could be their last few moments together. The loud bell from the justice building sounded suddenly, making them both jump.

"I guess it's time then," Cato said and he pulled her off behind him and toward the giant justice building that towered over the rest of District Two.

Once they had signed in, they were separated into the different sections, holding all girls and boys of different ages. Cato stood with the 18-year-old boys and Clove with the 17-year-old girls. Once they were all sorted into their sections, their capitol ambassador stepped up to the mike. Clove stood up on her tiptoes to search out Cato, but he was lost in a sea of faces.

"Hello everyone," the capitol ambassador said in her awful capitol accent. "Happy Hunger Games! The time has come to select our tributes!" Without any further introduction, she walked over to the bowl of girl's names. She fished around in the bowl for an obnoxiously long time. The capitol citizens always enjoyed this part the most, as everyone else held their breath. Time slowed down as she called out the girl's name. And it's _Clove. _

Whispers erupted from the crowd almost immediately. For a moment, Clove stood frozen in her place, then turned suddenly and marched up to the stage. Her face looked emotionless and cold, but her eyes searched frantically for Cato. In the crowd, all the boys had turned to face him. He avoided their eyes and stared straight ahead at her, thinking about that promise he had made to her all those years ago, and hoping he wasn't going to go through with it now that the moment had actually come. She also thought how this was his last chance to fulfill his dream of being a victor, and she hoped someone would volunteer to take her place but knew no one would.

"Alright," their ambassador said, "Now for the boys." She fished around in that bowl just as long, and as soon as the name was called Cato jumped out from his place and into the center aisle.

"I VOLUNTEER," he yelled. The boy who was actually reaped had not even moved from his place by the time Cato reached the stage. Clove's heart slowed and she wanted to scream at him, but stayed quiet. Clove stared at him, keeping her face calm, but he could see that her eyes were wild.

"I present your tributes for the 74th annual Hunger Games," the ambassador squealed again. Cato and Clove turned to each other, shook hands, and were pushed back into the justice building within seconds. They were not even five feet into the room before Clove jumped on Cato.

"What is wrong with you?" she screamed, "We can't both be in this and win!" Cato easily pushed her off and pinned her against the wall behind them. The ambassador squealed for them to stop, but they both ignored her.

"I promised you that I would volunteer to protect you if you got reaped and didn't feel ready! Besides, this is my last chance! I age out next year! It's not my fault you got reaped," he yelled. She squirmed against his grip but could not break free.

"How do you think this is going to end Cato?" she yelled, "We can't both win! And if you're protecting me the whole time, it'll likely end up to be between the two of us!" Cato released his grip and stepped back.

"I guess we'll have to just wait and see," he said, "May the best man win." With that, he stormed off down the hall. Clove was shocked at his sudden emotionless demeanor. Just a second ago he was talking about protecting her, but now it's as if he's saying every man for himself.

Clove moved awkwardly passed their ambassador and into the room behind her where she would receive her family. All of her family was very pleased and excited to see her win. She was flooded with congratulations and hugs.

Only her father seemed worried. He knelt down and looked her straight in the eye and said, "I know you have some sort of relationship with this boy. Don't let that affect you. You can win this thing, Clove. But if you get distracted for just a second, that could be the end of it. And you don't get a second chance." Clove nodded and buried her face in her father's shoulder. He seemed to be the only one who understood that this was not how she had wanted it to happen.

Once their families were gone, she and Cato were whisked through the justice building and out onto a capitol train. Their capitol ambassador, whose name they now knew to be Coral, was babbling on and on about how wonderful everything in the capitol is and how excited they should be to see it. Clove and Cato didn't speak, and avoided each other's eyes as they boarded the train. They sat in silence as they awaited their mentor.

"Her name is Enobaria," Coral said as they sat down to await her arrival, "She will be taking care of both of you throughout the games and has some past victor knowledge I know she's dying to share with you. She just absolutely loves the games." Clove and Cato both stared straight ahead, not saying anything.

When Enobaria entered the room, neither of them reacted. They had already seen Enobaria and studied her own Hunger Games and victory. They had nothing new to learn from her. She sat down across from them and smiled. Her pointy gold teeth were blinding. As she started talking, they both remained silent, and stared at the floor.

"What's up with you two?" she asked, shaking them both from their daze. "I've heard of both of you and thought you'd be excited. Is their something happening that I don't know about?" Clove's eyes flicked toward Cato and then back to the floor. It wasn't more than a second, but this was enough for Enobaria to figure it out. "Are you two a thing?"

"No," Clove snapped immediately.

"We were friends," Cato said and stood up, "But I don't think we are anymore."

"Cato," Clove said and stood up too, but he backed away.

"No," he said, "You were right. Only one of us can win. Just because we've been friends forever doesn't mean I'm going to die to let you win. We should distance ourselves now. " With that he left the room.

"He's right you know," Enobaria said.

"Shut up," Clove snapped and stormed off as well.

"We're in for an interesting ride," Enobaria said to Coral who giggled uncomfortably.


	3. Drifting

**Chapter Three: Drifting**

The next morning, Clove and Cato sat in silence as they ate breakfast. Enobaria and Coral rambled on and on about what their day would be like in the capitol. Cato and Clove nodded along, but said nothing. Clove could see Enobaria eying them suspiciously, so she tried to pay attention to what Coral was saying, but couldn't focus on anything but the fact that Cato was staring at her.

"Alright," Enobaria said and threw down her fork, "You two cannot act like this once we get to the capitol. District Two is known for being tough and the ideal tributes. So, we need to figure out what we're going to do to fix this problem." When neither of them said anything, Enobaria probed further, "Any ideas? "

"We need to just pretend we haven't been friends. We need to pretend that the first time we met was at the reaping," Clove said.

"I agree," Coral said, "That way you can be seen more separately." Clove turned to look at Cato, but he stared straight ahead, saying nothing.

"Can you two do that?" Enobaria asked, "Because you aren't doing a great job so far."

"I can," Clove said and Cato nodded slowly. Before anyone could say anything else, the capitol suddenly came into view. Forgetting the conversation entirely, both Cato and Clove jumped up from the table and ran toward the window. Seeing the capitol had been both of their dreams ever since they could remember. Even in this situation, Clove forgot about Cato and the games to come and focused on the fabulous city before her.

Clove could feel Cato's eyes on her, but she pushed him from her mind. She was right, Enobaria was right, and more than anything, her father had been right. Being distracted by feelings for Cato, even those of friendship, could cost her the title of victor and her life.

She turned her back to Cato and faced Enobaria. "We meet our stylists and prep team when we get off right?" she asked and Enobaria nodded. "Great. Yell for me when we get there." She turned, and walked back toward her room on the train, avoiding Cato's eyes as she passed.

"Not uh," Enobaria said and pulled her back to the window, "You need to be at the window, waving and smiling when we pull into the station. Acting like nothing is wrong."

"Nothing is wrong," Clove snapped as she shook off Enobaria's grip. She shoved past Coral to the window, still avoiding Cato's eyes and stared out the window as the capitol loomed closer and closer.

When they pulled into the station, Clove was overwhelmed by the sight. The station was swarmed with capitol citizens, all dressed in their signature ridiculous outfits. Right as the train came into view, the crowd roared. Clove forced a smile and waved. She felt Cato do the same, knowing his was just as fake. When the train came to a halt and the doors opened to the station, the roar of the crowd increased. People chanted their names and their district as Coral and Enobaria lead them through the crowd and toward the tribute tower that loomed over the entire city.

Even though she could still feel Cato's eyes on her, Clove couldn't help but smile.

XXX

"I think today went wonderfully well," Coral gushed later that night at dinner in the tribute tower. "I was talking to some of the other Capitol Ambassadors, and they were saying that work on the 12 tributes took hours! How embarrassing!"

"Well they are starving in a coal mine practically…," Cato said. The entire room stopped and stared at him. Clove narrowed her eyes at him, and he buried his head in his meal.

"No matter," Coral said and waved his comment off, "I know that you two will be the stars of this games!"

Clove could still feel Cato watching her as Coral said this and was getting fed up with it. She threw her fork down onto the plate and pushed her chair back violently. "I'm not very hungry," she said, "I think I'll go to bed now."

She stormed from the room quickly, before anyone could say anything, but she heard someone follow her.

"Clove, wait," Cato said and grabbed her arm.

"Let go of me, Cato," she snapped and tried to shake him off, but as usual, she wasn't strong enough to get rid of him.

"Can't we talk?" he asked.

"Talk about what?" Clove yelled and finally shook him off, "How you completely ruined both of our lives by volunteering for these games? I had no choice! I'm sorry I got reaped on your last year, but I couldn't really change that! You didn't have to volunteer!"

"You should've known I was going to," he said quietly, "I've been preparing for this my whole life! Doesn't that matter to you?"

"Not as much as your life does," Clove yelled, tears now streaming down her face. "Do you not realize how this is going to end? One of us is going to die!"

"Didn't you know that all along?" Cato yelled back.

"Yes but I never thought that it would be between us," she said again, "No matter how this turns out, we will never see each other again!" Tears were now spilling down her face at an embarrassing rate. She tried to stop them, but they wouldn't stop.

"Oh Clove," Cato said and pulled her closer to him. At first, she let him encircle his arms around her and breathed in his warm scent.

Once she got herself under control, she snapped back into reality and pulled away. "Clove please," Cato said but Clove shook her head and backed away. "I don't want to drift apart now, exactly for the reason that we'll never see each other again."

"That's why we have to drift apart," Clove whispered and looked down at the floor, "It'll hurt less in the end." Before he could respond, Clove turned and ran down the hall to her room and slammed the door behind her.


	4. The Last Night

**Chapter Four: The Last Night **

Cato and Clove played the part of strangers well. After the tribute parade, they tried not to be seen together much at all. Throughout the training sessions over the next week, they distanced themselves from one another. They made sure that they were always at different stations in the training arena and that they were hardly seen together unless they had to be. They tried to ignore one another as much as possible.

Clove was at her usual station, aiming her knives at the mannequins, when she heard Cato yelling at one of the other tributes. She tried to ignore it, but as Cato's yelling grew louder, that became more difficult. Eventually Peacekeepers, pulled them apart, and by then Clove couldn't pull her eyes away from him. As he was shaking others off, he caught her eye. Clove widened her eyes and shook her head at him, trying to get him to calm down. But, he turned away and stormed out of the arena.

"What's with him?" someone asked from behind Clove, making her jump. When she turned around, she saw the District One girl, Glimmer, standing behind her.

"What?" Clove asked even though she wasn't really interested. Before Glimmer responded, she turned back to the mannequins and aimed another knife.

"You're counter tribute," she said again as she pulled out a bow and a sheath of arrows and started aiming at the mannequins as well.

"What about him?" Clove asked, getting more annoyed with her as she aimed another knife.

"Don't get me wrong," she said as she shot an arrow, "He's hot and definitely strong and tough. But he seems a little crazy." Clove fought hard to bite back her tongue and threw two more knives, hard, before answering.

"If you say so," she said and threw another, "I don't really know him all that well." Before Glimmer could answer, she threw her last three knives one after another and then walked away from that station.

XXX

Enobaria was surprisingly impressed with the two of them. "I didn't think you could do it," she said on their last night at dinner. "But the other mentors have told me that you two are coming off as the most intimidating, and the only ones at the top of the game."

Coral squealed and clapped her hands together. Clove forced a smile while Cato continued staring at his plate.

"Oh come on you two," Enobaria said, "You guys are at the top!"

"I don't think we are," Cato said suddenly, "Katniss Everdeen from District 12 got an 11. That's a higher score than both of us got."

"That was a fluke," Enobaria said, "It has to be. She's from District 12."

"She's doing something right obviously," he muttered and Clove nudged him.

"I'm not really that hungry anymore," Cato said and pushed his chair back, "I'm going to try to get some sleep."

"Yes good," Coral said, "Both of you need to get lots of sleep. Big day tomorrow!" Cato nodded and left the room. Clove followed shortly after and got into her bed and tried to sleep.

A few hours later, she threw the blankets off in frustration. She pulled on a jacket and a pair of shoes before leaving her room and wondering down to the main room of the suite. When she got there, she could hear yelling and cheering from the streets of the capitol through the glass doors leading to the balcony. When she looked out towards the sound, she saw Cato leaning over the balcony railing and staring down at the streets.

Against her better judgment, she decided to join him. "Hey," she said. Cato turned to look at her and smiled weakly at her. "Couldn't sleep either?"

"Of course not," he said as he turned back over the rail. Clove joined him at the rail and stared out over the capitol. "This was my dream," Cato said suddenly, "To be here in this city. To be doing the games. But now that I'm here, I'm dreading tomorrow more than anything."

"I know what you mean," Clove said, "Everything seemed much more glamorous from the outside. But being a tribute for real feels a lot different." Both were quiet for a moment and could hear the citizens below chanting for the games louder than ever.

"I don't know what's going to happen Clove," Cato said suddenly and turned to face her, "and I know that we are supposed to be distancing ourselves for the games, but I have to tell you, you're my best friend. I almost hope that I don't win because I don't know what I would do without you." Clove smiled and looked down at her feet as she took Cato's hands in hers.

"When did you suddenly become such a softy?" she whispered and Cato smiled. For the first time that week, his smiled looked genuine, making Clove smile as well. Before Clove could process what was happening, Cato had leaned down and kissed her. It was quick and he drew back only slightly and looked down into her eyes. After 17 years, Clove finally let her guard down and pulled him back in. She kissed him harder than before, and at first he seemed surprised, but after a few moments he gave in and pulled her closer.

After a few long moments, they broke apart. "We should get some sleep," Cato said as he rested his forehead on hers, "Big day tomorrow." Clove laughed quietly and nodded. Cato started to pull away, but Clove held him tighter.

"I don't want to be alone," she whispered. Cato looked down into her eyes for a moment before kissing her forehead and leading her back into the tower.

XXX

Clove woke with a start the next morning. It was still early and they had a few hours before they needed to leave. She panted heavily as laid back down slowly, trying to forget her nightmare.

"You okay?" Cato asked from next to her.

"Yeah," she said, "I'm sorry I woke you."

"It's fine," he said as he sat up a little, "I was barely sleeping anyway." A few moments of silence went by as Clove tried to catch her breath. "I should go," Cato said as he climbed out of bed and pulled his shoes on, "We should have some time alone."

"Cato," Clove said before he left and he stopped at the door. "We have to go back to being distant again," she said, "If we want any chance of winning for either of us, we need to be just two other 'career' tributes."

"I know," Cato said and looked at the ground, "I think we needed one more night. We've been best friends since we were little. I didn't want it to end like it was going." Clove smiled and said nothing as Cato kissed her forehead and left the room. She laid back down on her bed, knowing sleep would never come.


	5. The Games

**Chapter Five: The Games **

A knot had formed in Clove's stomach as she and her stylist, Gem, rode to the arena. She urged Clove to eat or drink but Clove ignored her. She had been told that tributes often became close with their stylists, but that was not the case for her and Gem. Gem was the embodiment of a girly girl and every stereotype that Clove had always fought against and despised. So she was not fond of her.

When their train came to a screeching halt, Clove felt her mouth go dry. Gem pulled her out into a long hallway, lined with Peacekeepers. As they walked her to further transportation, she couldn't help but feel more like a prisoner than an honored guest as she always thought she would feel.

The Peacekeepers opened a door at the end of the hallway and Gem shuffled her inside. The door locked automatically behind them. All that the room contained was a table, with a jacket on top of it, and what looked like a giant glass tube. Gem grabbed the jacket and helped Clove into it. Clove turned back to face Gem, expecting a heart felt speech, but luckily an intercom voice sounded above them that deployment would occur in 30 seconds. Clove did not hesitate. She turned away from Gem and climbed into her glass tube. She turned back to face Gem as the countdown ended. Gem smiled and waved.

Before Clove could react to this strange gesture, the floor below her began to rise. She took a deep breath and looked up the tube. A few moments later, the top opened revealing a bright sun. Clove shielded her eyes as she emerged from the tube. Her eyes took a few seconds to adjust to the bright sun but once they did, she could see the arena before her. The giant cornucopia sat in the center, with hundreds of packs of supplies spilling out of its mouth. Behind that stood a giant forest that spread farther than she could see. On the other side of the cornucopia stood a giant lake and next to that a field with grass at least six feet tall. She would definitely be avoiding that area. The countdown started behind the cornucopia.

She looked around at the other tributes. Next to her stood the District 12 girl, Katniss and the District 11 boy, Thresh. Clove noticed that Katniss seemed to be having a silent conversation with her counterpart tribute across from them. She rolled her eyes at them. Their fake romance had annoyed her and had gained them top spot for sponsors, which annoyed her more. She looked out across the circle of the 24 of them and saw Cato. He flashed her a smile and a wink. She smiled back.

She looked back to the countdown just in time. As the gong sounded, she jumped off her platform and ran for the stash of knives inside the cornucopia. Time seemed to slow around her as many of the tributes ran straight for shelter in the forest or near the lake. Others foolishly ran toward the cornucopia, where Clove knew either she or Cato would take them down.

Cato reached it first, grabbing the biggest sword there was. He immediately took down three or four of the others and allowed Clove to have time to pick the best, if not all, the knives there were. Thresh tried to get at her at last twice with an impressively sized axe, but Cato sliced his arm as a threat, and he took off for the field of tall grass.

Once she picked all the knives she wanted, she joined Cato. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Katniss running for a pack at the edge of the cornucopia along with another tribute. "I'm going to get 12 out of the way now," Clove shouted to Cato who nodded and grinned as he ran off after another. Clove ran toward the two who were now fighting over the pack. She threw one of her knives with impressive force, hitting the other tribute straight in the back. The tribute slumped forward and she had a clear shot at Katniss, who now looked panicked. Clove smiled as she threw another knife straight for her chest. But, Katniss threw the backpack in front of her, blocking the knife.

Before Clove could strike again, Cato yelled her name. Clove turned to see another tribute running at her. She turned back to see Katniss running for the forest. Clove took a deep breath, let her go, and turned to the tribute threatening her now. She took him down easily, with one toss of a knife. With that, the blood bath seemed to be ended. All that were left standing were Clove and Cato and the two District One tributes, Glimmer and Marvel. Cato gestured for Clove to join them as they began to form their "Career Pack" as everyone else called it. She pulled her two knives out of her last two victims and ran to join them.

Once they had gathered all their supplies, they set out for the woods, ready to track their next victim. Once they were out of sight of the cornucopia, the cannons sounded. None of them bothered counting. It didn't matter how many were left because no one stood a chance next to them. After a few hours of hiking through the forest, they decided to rest a moment.

Luckily they had found water at the cornucopia. The arena was sweltering at this time of day. But everyone knew that they would be freezing once night came, so no one discarded their jackets.

"We'll have better luck finding one at night," Cato said as he paced back and forth in their clearing. "One of them will be stupid enough to light a fire."

"Ooh that is a brilliant idea Cato," Glimmer said as she paced next to him and stroked his arm. Cato looked at her a little strangely at first and then smiled. Clove rolled her eyes as she took another drink of water. She couldn't help but notice that Glimmer was beautiful with her pale skin, bright blue eyes and long blonde hair, but she didn't seem Cato's type. Even though she was tough, she was giggly and ditsy.

Glimmer continued to giggle and flirt as Cato paced and Marvel went back to the cornucopia to look for food. With each stupid giggle or flirtatious statement, Clove rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. She tried to ignore it as she took her knives out of her pack to sharpen them. After a few hours, Marvel returned from the cornucopia with packs of food for each of them.

As they formed a circle around a small fire that Cato started to eat, Glimmer continued to flirt annoyingly. At first, Cato seemed annoyed by her, but now, must to Clove's dismay, he began flirting back and telling her stories of his many conquests back home.

"I taught this one everything she knows," he said pointing to Clove.

"What?" I snapped, thinking we were still sticking to the 'we met at the reaping' plan. Cato had obviously forgotten that plan though because he continued.

"Yeah, we met back at the academy almost ten years ago," he said, "Been coaching her ever since."

"Yeah right," Clove snapped, "I taught myself almost everything I know thank you." With that, she threw her remaining beef jerky into the fire and stormed off toward the other side of the clearing. She heard Cato say he'd be right back and follow her.

"What's wrong?" Cato whispered, "You seem upset."

"We were supposed to stick to the plan," Clove snapped, "That we had ever met. Now you just blew that cover. All of Panem now knows that we have known each other for almost ten years!"

"I didn't think it was that big a deal anymore," he said looking back over at Glimmer who waved and smiled at him. Clove rolled her eyes again as Cato waved back. "And your eyes are going to roll out of your head if you keep doing that."

"Stop it," Clove said and started to head back to the fire but Cato grabbed her arm.

"Come on Clove," he said, "We're already here! It doesn't matter anymore." She shook of his arm and nodded.

"I know," she said, "I thought you'd just like to get back to your girlfriend." Before Cato could respond, a twig snapped behind Cato and made everyone jump. Cato grabbed his sword, Clove her knives, Marvel a spear, and Glimmer drew an arrow into her bow. They were all poised for the attack, as they had been trained, as someone emerged from the trees. Much to their surprise, it was the District 12 boy, Peeta.

"Kill him," Cato said to Glimmer, whose would be the easiest. One arrow to the throat and he'd be gone. No one else would have to move.

"Wait," Peeta said and he held up his hands, "I'm here to help you." All four started laughing immediately.

"What could you possibly help us with?" Cato asked.

"I'm going to help you find Katniss," he said. This intrigued all of them. She had been their initial target from the start. "I know you've been after her from the start."

"Why would you do that?" Clove asked, her knives still ready to strike, "Aren't you two in love or whatever?"

"My reasons are my own," he said as he came closer. Everyone else had lowered their weapons as he approached Cato. "I just know that I'll be able to find her. I know her pretty well." Cato eyed him suspiciously and turned to look at Clove, who shrugged.

"Alright," Cato said as he put his sword down and Clove lowered her knives. "But if we don't find her by sunset tomorrow, you're dead." Peeta nodded. After a few awkward moments, he joined Marvel and Glimmer at the fire.

"You sure about this?" Clove asked Cato and he shrugged.

"Even if he's tricking us, I think we can take him," he said and Clove laughed. Cato smiled before turning back to the group and joining Glimmer again. Clove resisted the urge to roll her eyes again at them as she sat on his other side. Soon, they put out of the fire and were on the hunt again.


End file.
